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Rival Hatred

Like any good Brewers fan (or Cards fan, or Sox fan, or Reds fan) I have a fairly in-depth dislike for the Chicago Cubs.

That being said, I try very hard to not get personal about it. What point is there in screaming at other fans or telling Aramis Ramirez that he sucks?

But where do you draw the line on rejoicing in the downfall of our least favorite team?

You see, tonight I was checking on the standings within the NL Central and I noticed a headline informing me that Carlos Zambrano went down during today’s Cubs game with a pulled hamstring and was out pending more information and an MRI.

Often when this happens, fans of opposing teams are buoyed by the likely slump that will occur to the rival team upon the loss of one of their players. In this case, the Cubs also have Derek Lee as day-to-day with a bulging disk in his neck.

And they’re visiting Miller Park next weekend, so I can’t help but hope that it means a better showing for my team than their first meeting this season.

But is it wrong to cheer the injury of another player? And is it really cheering when you’re excited about the possible windfall your team receives from an accident that’s not at all your fault?

Invariably whenever a player goes down, some fans are excited and other’s berate th0se fans for being tactless or insensitive.

But it’s not like I was sitting at home rooting for Zambrano to get injured, right? Can’t I be happy that my team might get a break and not have to face him?

I mean, it’s unfortunate and I certainly don’t wish him any permanent damage, but since it happened through no fault of our own, am I bad person if I do a little dance at the possibility that we don’t have to face our division rivals’ ace next Friday?

So Dear Ladies… readers – what’s your advice?

(This is a picture-less post because I don’t think anyone needs to see Zambrano first thing Monday morning.)

It’s alway OK (unless it’s life-threatening, of course) to rejoice in the unfortunate injuries of your rivals. And it’s an absolute must to revel in the same such injury if the athlete is real a**hole (like, say, Joey Porter perhaps). Then you’re not just enjoying the advantage your team receives, but also celebrating that a bit of kharmic justice has been served.

And it’s not like you had a voodoo doll of Zambrano or anything, right? :P

I’m a Sox fan and I personally was happy to see Zambrano get hurt because to me he seems like a selfish player and uncontrollable person. On the other hand, Derrick Lee has always been a solid guy and I always wish him the best (except against my Sox of course).